Steel band concert benefits nonprofit

Published: Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 5:30 a.m. CST

The Northern Illinois University Steel Band will provide a tropical reprieve for those with cabin fever on Friday, March 1. The renowned NIU Steel Band, under the direction of Liam Teague, will perform an eclectic blend of music from across the globe to benefit the literacy and academic enrichment programs of Neighbors’ House across DeKalb County.

The concert will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Evangelical Free Church, on the corner of Bethany Road and First Street in DeKalb. Tickets cost $15 and can only be purchased online at www.neighborshouse.org. Tickets and seats are limited. All proceeds benefit Neighbors’ House.

Neighbors’ House provides free and low-cost reading and homework help programs, such as Reading & Homework Clubs, Homework Help Nights, Summer Reading Vacations and Summer Art Vacations. Most of these programs take place in income-eligible apartment and housing complexes throughout DeKalb County. Neighbors’ House, a nonprofit, faith-based, community development organization, is celebrating its 10th anniversary and will serve 200 students this year.

The NIU Steel Band was the first active steel band formed in an American university and has performed around the world. Highlights include a performance for 18,000 soccer fans in Yankee Stadium, two successful tours of Taiwan in 1992 and 1998, concerts with symphony orchestras including the St. Louis Symphony and the Chicago Sinfonietta, and performances at several Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. In 2000, the Steel Band had the distinction of placing second in the World Steelband Festival in Trinidad, and in 2002 performed several concerts at the Seoul Drum Festival in South Korea.